Wow. What a year it has been. 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year, to say the least, and many of us are looking forward to the end of a long and strenuous year. This year has brought us a lot of challenges for every one of us in some way or another. Some of us have had experiences that others do not, and we have been able to learn and grow during times like these. Times have been tough, but we have managed to be there for one another and the electronic dance music community seems to be closer together than ever before.
We truly believe that this upcoming year will bring a tremendous amount of new experiences, memories, and friendships. 2020 has left us in a place most of us have never been before. Many of us have counted on music or our friends and family to get us through these strange times. Whatever way it may be, we were able to get through this year together, and we are very excited about the future. With that being said, here is a look back at some of this year’s best stories, events, memories, and editorials from The EDM Maniac Team.
Throughout the course of this year, many of us were not able to experience a live event. If we were able to attend a show this year, it was only a few of them and a lot of people were not able to experience some of their favorite festivals or see their favorite DJs which left us with a lot of time at home. The EDM Maniac Team showcased our 6 scenic venues that you need to cross off your bucket list when live shows return as well as how to successfully throw a virtual rave party.
Speaking of throwing a party, we launched EDM Maniac Presents. EDM Maniac Presents hosts socially-safe live shows and has hosted artists such as Dombresky and 12th Planet. Not only did we launch EDM Maniac Presents, but we also launched a brand new techno alias, MANIAC BLVCK. MANIAC BLVCK explores the deeper and darker sounds of techno and throws techno-based events. This upcoming New Year’s, MANIAC BLCVK will be hosting an event on Friday, January 1 with Green Velvet (Our biggest announcement yet). We have been working on a ton of surprises for 2021 and we are excited to announce them this year.
This period of no live events has left us without a show for the majority of the year. Our team has taken the time to outlay our favorite feel-good dance music documentaries that you can watch at home during this period of no live events. We have also outlaid which DJ sets to watch when you’re stuck at home and we also got you covered with what DJ sets to watch in nature as well as what indoor activities ravers can do during COVID-19.
Despite 2020 being an unfortunate year for live music, we as a dance music community received a tremendous amount of innovation during this time period from event companies and leaders within our industry. Drive-in raves, live streams, and socially distant events were set in place to provide live events at some capacity. EDM Drive-In has hosted successful events with artists such as Virtual Riot and Cash Cash in recent months. EDM Drive-In just announced our New Year’s Eve show with Desert Hearts on December 31 which is another huge announcement for EDM Maniac.
The EDM Maniac Team has broken down what our favorite live streams have been thus far as well as some of our favorite live stream locations. Not only that, but we broke down what raving from your car is like and what exactly ‘pod raving’ is.
Live Nation has given us confidence by revealing that they expect full capacity shows by next summer and they also believe that shows of scale will return by next summer as vaccines have started to become dispersed across the world. A rapid, COVID-19 event testing service has officially launched and Ticketmaster is currently working on a system in order for attendees to attend live shows in a safe and efficient manner.
The EDM Maniac Team has published a plethora of major festival announcements, especially the tail end of this year. Techno parties returned in Tulum, Ultra Taiwan, and EDC Portugal were announced as well as international dance music events in Ibiza and Croatia.
We were deeply saddened to hear that both Garrett Lockhart, better known as i_o, and Cookie Monsta, better known as Tony Cook, both passed away this year. Both of their musical abilities and their ability to push boundaries has left an everlasting impact on the dance music community and they both will be truly missed and remembered forever.
On a lighter note, we launched our first-ever internship program and we currently have five amazing interns who have helped our brand grow and develop over the course of their internships thus far. Our amazing team is expecting great things in 2021, and we are really looking forward to showing you what we have in store.
Stay safe and have a happy New Year!
